The Schlichtings: A Legacy With The Olympia Symphony

Austin Schlichting, a Bellingham native, moved to Olympia as a composer and music teacher. CREDIT: MATT MILTON

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The Olympia Symphony celebrates 65 years in 2018. To mark this special occasion, they commissioned the grandson of one of their first music directors, Austin Schlichting, to write a piece.

Austin Schlichting is a composer and music teacher in western Washington. His works have been performed across the country – Northwestern University and Las Vegas. In “Festchrift,”  he pays homage to the Olympia Symphony and his grandfather’s legacy with the orchestra dating back to the 1950’s.

NWPB music director Jessie Jacobs sat down with Austin to hear about his inspiration, the upcoming world premiere and the unexpected ways he incorporated his grandfather into the work.

The symphony premieres the piece later this month at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts during their concert Coming Full Circle.’

 

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